We all want our children to be smart. Many mothers have been taking supplements since they were pregnant. When the children were young, they calculated the nutrition of each gram of food very carefully, and one minute of sleep was not enough to worry about the intellectual impairment of their children. So does the child's intelligence have much to do with these? Does the parenting style have a great influence on the child's intelligence?
first give you a somewhat surprising answer: a child’s intelligence is much more affected by genes than by the way of nurturing. Genetic influence may be 80%, so except for severely malnourished children who are struggling below the poverty line, nutrition does not have that much impact on children's intelligence. How did
come to this conclusion?
scientists used a very clever way: twin research. They compared several different groups of children, including twins from the same family, twins from different families, ordinary siblings from the same family, and unrelated children from the same family, and then compared their IQ differences after they grew up. . If children raised in the same family with no blood relatives have similar intelligence, it means that the way of family raising is really important. If the intelligence of twins raised in completely different families is more similar, it means that genes have a greater impact on intelligence. What is the result of
? Many groups of scientists did a lot of follow-up and observation, including the twin tracking in Minnesota, United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands and other places, and finally got roughly similar conclusions: whether they grew up in the same family, twins The intelligence correlation of siblings has reached 76%~80%; while the siblings who grew up in the same family, the intelligence correlation is only 50%, and the unrelated children who grew up in the same family have the intelligence correlation as low as 30% the following.
Therefore, we know that nearly 80% of a child's intelligence is determined by genes, and only 20%~30% comes from parenting. What does this conclusion show? Explain that everything is born. So, should the parents do nothing?
is not.
What I want to tell you the most is: Don’t enter into the misunderstanding of brain development, don’t mention brain development, it is to enhance intelligence, not to mention intelligence is to take supplements and add nutrition. What we really want to do is to understand the brain more deeply and really understand the broad brain functions. Intelligence is only a small part of brain function, and it is not even the most important factor for children's future academic and work achievements. What factors in the brain of
affect children's future success?
What factors in the brain affect the children's future success? Let's first look at a few important studies.
1. Balanced development of the left and right brains
The famous psychologist Daniel Siegel of California State University proposed that if children focus too much on one side of the brain, they will encounter great difficulties in the future. Left-brain thinking pays more attention to logic and details, and right-brain thinking pays more attention to emotions and the whole. Therefore, the unbalanced or uncoordinated development of the left and right brains will make it difficult for people to deeply understand knowledge and the world. The famous American pedagogy book "Future Learning" also pointed out that the most important thing in the future is to cultivate a whole person with balanced development of the left and right brains.
2. Two modes of mental processing
Nobel Prize winner Kahneman and the famous psychologist Steinovic have carefully studied why smart people often do stupid things. They later came to the same conclusion: people have two kinds of minds, one is very fast and instinctive, but often makes mistakes; the other is slower, more laborious, but more rational and prudent. The brains of these two systems work differently, and the rational system is more able to make people do the right things in the long run.
3. Non-intellectual factors such as self-control and persistence
Heckman, a famous professor at the University of Chicago, has done a number of large-scale follow-up surveys, and later found that intelligence is not critical for predicting students’ future academic and life achievements, on the contrary, it is critical What are some non-intellectual abilities, also known as "non-cognitive abilities" and "personal physique or character", including persistence, self-control, curiosity, self-reflection, self-confidence, social skills, etc., are more important for the long-term development of children Is important.
4. The effect of learning on the brain The last study of
came from mice. Scientists observed in mice and found that learning can cause certain changes in the brain. Scientists have found that compared with mice living in conventional laboratory cages, those mice living in large cages with objects that can play and explore and constantly change have a significant increase in the weight and thickness of the cerebral cortex. Learning opportunities promoted the connection of the mouse brain. More interestingYes, comparing mice that learn difficult movements with mice that only do a lot of exercises, scientists have found that repeated practice can only increase the density of blood vessels in the brain, while real learning difficult skills can increase the connection of the brain.
What do all these studies show? It shows that for academic and life success, the following factors are more important: the self-control and willpower of the brain, a rational and prudent mental model, the balanced development of the whole brain, and the wisdom accumulated through learning. How does
strengthen these factors?
Here, I want to emphasize one point first, that is, "smart or smart" is actually too simplified evaluation. Our attention to children's brains should be more focused on whether the brains are balanced.
I like two metaphors that I particularly like. One comes from the psychologist Daniel Siegel, who compares the brain to a building and a small building; the other comes from Marvin Minsky, my most admired master of artificial intelligence. He compared the brain to a society in which many small people lived, and they acted individually and coordinated with each other, calling it a "mental society". And a perfect brain should be a balanced building, or a harmonious small society, with a balanced development of multiple functions and a good coordination relationship between each other.
1. How to promote the balanced development of the brain?
So, how do we promote the balanced development of the brain?
In life, would you consider the question: Why are some people good at liberal arts and some are good at science? Are there any differences between boys and girls in arts and sciences? Why do some people learn very well and have a lot of knowledge, but their emotional intelligence is so low that they only accept death and do not know what they say and what they say? Why are some people very considerate and have a good personality, but they have no way or logic to do things? The confusion and conflicts mentioned above all stem from the unbalanced development of the left and right brains. To talk about the balanced development of the brain, one has to mention the left and right brains.
The human brain does have regional differences, which are mainly reflected in the functions of the left and right hemispheres. The left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for analysis, details, and language. It is in charge of logical thinking and linear thinking. It cares about order, only accepts positive and clear information, and processes ideas and concepts. Regular school learning requires students to pay attention to details, concepts, order, reading and reasoning, which are closely related to the left brain.
And the right hemisphere of the brain mainly deals with visual tasks. It is intuitive and grasps the structure of things as a whole before understanding the details. It is good at metaphor and has aesthetic rather than logical functions. It can receive nonverbal signals, be close to inner emotions, and understand the emotions of others. It jumps in thinking and is closer to the way of thinking of artists and creative scientists.
People usually think that the left brain is mainly responsible for logical analysis, and the left brain should be better developed in science; the right brain is mainly responsible for the whole and feeling, and the right brain should be better in the art and literature. In fact, a truly outstanding master must be the development of the left and right brains. Meaningful learning in any subject must be a combination of logical thinking and emotional intuition, concepts and experiences, ideas and meanings.
Since there are indeed regional differences in the brain, how can we cultivate the balanced development of the left and right brains of children?
First of all, we have to let go of some prejudices about the brain development of boys and girls.
Traditionally, it is believed that boys are better at science and girls are better at liberal arts. Men and women have different brain development. In fact, the brains of boys and girls do have some congenital differences, but they are not overall differences, but differences in fine functions.
is responsible for the space imagination part of the parietal lobe of the right brain. Women are generally inherently weaker than men. This makes women inferior to men in terms of recognizing maps and involving algebraic geometric spatial imagination. In terms of emotional perception in the right brain, men are generally inherently weaker than women, which makes men less sensitive to interpersonal communication than women. But these congenital differences in the brain are not static, and guidance to children can completely make up for the congenital differences.
We should not be biased against subjects that boys and girls are good at learning. This kind of prejudice will be implanted in the heart of the child and will adversely affect future learning. Inherent differences are actually easy to make up in the acquired exercise. Mom and Dad can guide their children at home so that both boys and girls can achieve balanced development.
Secondly, through games in life, exercise children's left and right brains.
Geometric construction and drawing understanding can help girls build spatial imagination, while role-playing games and reading stories can help boys improve their ability to perceive other people’s emotions. We can guide girls toImagine space, play some logical reasoning games, and often ask the boy: Why do you think the people in the story do this? How does he feel in his heart? These dialogues and game guidance are not difficult, but they can change the way children think. In order to get the best results, both the left and right brains must be involved in learning.
Once again, respect the law of children's brain development and give them time to grow up freely.
In fact, the main difference between the left and right brain is age. When children are young, whether boys or girls, the right brain is dominant and the right brain develops first. Children perceive the world with their bodies, understand things as a whole, cannot grasp details, are sensitive to feelings and emotions, and are full of free imagination.
With the maturity of the left brain and the learning of language and knowledge, by the school age, most children will become the dominant left brain. The mastery of grammar, the practice of reasoning, and the attention to detailed questions will strengthen the function of the left brain, which will continue until the child grows up. The connection between
this age change trend and the development of the left and right brains of children reminds us: we must respect the law of children’s brain development, and don’t force children who are too young to practice reading, writing and calculation according to the rules, because at this time they are still in the right brain-dominated emotional intuition After going to school, children should also be given more free time, so that their right brain can be exercised and their perception, aesthetics and imagination can continue to be exerted.
This is the first point I emphasize: to promote the balanced development of children's brains. Boys and girls have some inborn differences, but as long as they are balanced and guided, each child can develop in a balanced way. The balanced development of the brain is a prerequisite for both liberal arts and sciences and high IQ and EQ.
2. How to make children more sensible and more self-controlling?
After paying attention to the balanced development of the brain, let's talk about how to make children more rational and more self-controllable.
First of all, you need to know a noun called the prefrontal lobe, which refers to the part of the brain behind our forehead. If you compare the human skull with the chimpanzee skull, the biggest difference between the two is that the human forehead is more bulging, which is the result of the development of the frontal lobe of the human brain. In the past, there was a saying that "a child with a big head must be smart". To some extent, it makes sense, but it is not accurate. The prefrontal lobe of
is responsible for more advanced cognitive functions, such as thoughtfulness, foresight, self-control, willpower, planning strategies, and abstract thinking. It can be said that the prefrontal lobe is the headquarters of the brain and the main brain area that controls our thinking.
Very often, parents find that their children have difficulty concentrating. They can't learn after a while, or become irritable, crying, and impulsively controlled. Why?
This is because the prefrontal lobe of the child has not yet matured. The rapid development of the prefrontal lobe is at the age of six or seven, that is to say, before the age of six or seven, children are all emotionally impulsive little guys, and the self-control "command" is still being established, so when they are emotionally impulsive, There is no voice in his heart to remind him to "calm down", and we adults often hear this voice in his heart.
Since the prefrontal development of children aged 2 to 6 is not yet mature, what can we do to help children strengthen their self-control and be more rational?
First of all, the most important thing is to respect the child's development law. When a child is very young, he cannot be forced to concentrate for too long. Most of the time, the attention of three or four-year-old children is difficult to maintain for a long time. Parents must not be too anxious. They must believe that this is a natural stage in the child's growth and development, and it is necessary to wait patiently for the child to grow. In fact, the lack of long-term monitoring of the prefrontal lobe just gives the possibility of infinite divergence of thinking. The imagination of children's imagination is gradually reduced as the control of the prefrontal lobe matures. Therefore, lack of concentration also has its positive meaning.
Secondly, don't use more irrational emotions to fight when your child's emotions erupt. If the child gets angry, the parents will get even bigger, and the child will never learn how to use the frontal lobe to control emotions. Parents should calm down first, then slowly let their children calm down, and then begin to analyze the problem rationally. Only in this way can children learn to be rational.
Once again, give children more opportunities to manage themselves. The well-known founder of the cotton candy experiment and American psychologist Walter Michel found that if parents support their children's choices and decisions and encourage their children's autonomy, children will show stronger cognition and ability to control attention later. In other words, the more parents let their children be free, the more they can control themselves.
Why is this? The reason is simple. overParents who control their children are likely to undermine the development of their children's self-control. Self-control is to be exercised, and it needs to be really improved by the children themselves. Excessive control of parents is like never allowing children to play the piano by themselves, only allowing children to listen, and finally asking children to play music. The result is conceivable. Therefore, we must give children more time and opportunities for self-decision-making. Only by giving a lot of free time to exercise, concentration and self-control can it become a natural thing.
Finally, discuss the cause and effect, prospects, strategies, etc. of things with your children, focusing on the thinking process. The more developed the thinking ability of the frontal lobe, the more developed the ability to concentrate and self-control.
This is the second point we emphasize. To promote the development of children's self-control and willpower, one must know the development law of the prefrontal lobe of the brain. Next time we encounter a child’s emotional impulse, we can deal with it calmly. While respecting the law of development, we encourage children to think, choose, and decide by themselves.
3. How does learning affect the brain?
Next, let's talk about learning how to affect the brain. One important point to talk about here is: brain cell connections.
As mentioned earlier, after learning, the cell connections of the brain have greatly increased in mice. What does
mean? We need to start with the nerve cells of the brain. In fact, we say that preschool is a period of rapid development of the children’s brain. It does not mean that there is a large increase in brain nerve cells at this stage, but a large increase in the synapses on nerve cells, and the synapses between cells are mutually connected. When the line is connected, the nerve cells of the brain are establishing connections. The connection
is particularly important. Why? Because the connection of nerve cells in the brain is the basis for our learning and accumulation of experience, when we learn something, a stable connection of nerve cells will be established in the brain.
However, the synapses on the brain's nerve cells do not grow indefinitely and establish connections infinitely, but follow the process of first growing in large numbers and then pruning, and the connections that are not commonly used will be cut off. In other words, as our life experience becomes richer, the brain will first grow rapidly, connect a large number of related cells, and then see which ones are repeated, the repeated connections are left, and the ones that are not repeated are lost.
Now you understand the meaning of the mouse experiment, right? Only after a complicated learning process in mice, the connection of the brain is greatly increased. In a simple environment, or under the condition of only repetitive exercises, the brain is difficult to develop, or only increased blood supply, but not increased connectivity, that is, wisdom does not increase. What does
mean? Explain the importance of learning. We may not be able to change the child's innate brain reaction speed, but we can make the child use his brain more in the learning process. The more you learn, the more brain connections and experience wisdom.
It is worth mentioning that the peak period of synaptic growth of brain cells in different regions is different. The peak period of synaptic growth in the visual area is more than one year old, and the peak period of synaptic growth in the prefrontal lobe is at the age of six. The synaptic growth of the entire brain The peak period is around two years old. What is the meaning of
for children's learning? The most important meaning of
is that in the first few years of a child’s life, the brain is undergoing rapid connection establishment and shaping. If we use this time to allow children to think more, experience more, and learn more, it can have a lifetime for their brains. Beneficial influence. When
was young, all the learning of the brain was accompanied by changes in brain structure. The knowledge learned is not a floating cloud on the surface, it can be deeply recorded into the neural network along with changes in the brain nerve structure. This is like loading a computer's system, not just storing some commands (programs), but changing the way the computer operates.
is responsible for thinking, in-depth calculations and abstract concept understanding. The age at which a large number of prefrontal synapses grow is before the age of 6. During this time, children are exposed to a wealth of information and undergo a variety of thinking. The growth of synapses and the thickness of the cortex will greatly increase , And after 6 to 7 years old, it is the stable process of pruning synapses.
This is the third point I emphasize: Pay attention to the impact of learning on the brain. Therefore, parents should try their best to provide abundant brain resources during their children's childhood. The brain's nutrition does not come from food, but from information. Every new information, new experience, new thinking, and new exploration opportunity will increase the synaptic connections of brain cells, thereby making children more capable of thinking.
